Tuesday, April 03, 2012

What to say. . .

After Aleah's video I am a little tongue tied. I just can't top that. It was one of the best examples of her personality and spring. I have decided that spring is definitely my favorite time of year in Iowa. Iowa is at its best. I love seeing the calves in the pastures and the spring flowers, before the summer weeds make me hate my flowerbeds.

I have been reading a book my coworker gave me about hiking in Iowa. Iowa is not the same as Idaho. It is a little depressing to read about the tiny pieces of Iowa wilderness that are left. Idaho has thousands of acres of wilderness, state and federal lands, mostly protected, and mostly open for hiking and camping. Some people argue that these lands should be sold to the highest bidder, but after living in the Midwest and Texas for a decade, I am convinced that this would be a grave error. Imagine Iowa if the federal and state government in the early days of settlement had decided to preserve large tracts of prairie. It is harder to preserve farm ground than hard to reach mountain valleys, but I guarantee that if Idaho had been parcelled into private farms and ranches throughout the wilderness someone would have wanted it, logged it, built on it, fenced it, and much would be lost.

I hope to devote some time this summer seeking out some of the wildish (Mostly restored) bits of prairie and wilderness left in Iowa. We will see how far that desire goes once the craziness of summer selection sets in.